AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I told you before, Anna. You belong to me.
The elevator doors closed and we rose in silence. My breaths deepened and my pulse sped. If I licked my lips, I’d find them aching and swollen. But I didn’t need to do that. Every step made my thighs rub, igniting the memory of his fingers…and his goddamn tongue. My body hummed just thinking about it.
“Come on,” Kat urged as the doors opened.
I headed for my room, head down, the pressure inside building, and stopped at the doorway.
“What is it?”
She watched me, filled with concern. A tear slipped from the corner of my eye. “I…I need…”
She was beside me in an instant, sliding her hand along my arm. Her voice turned small and careful. “You can trust me, Anna, with whatever you’re going through.”
I met her gaze. Could I? Because right now, the walls were closing in and I wanted to run. I glanced around at the perfect apartment, knowing that in a place like this, someone listening was a given. My mind turned to that cold, stoic male at the jetty, the one who'd manhandled my father like he was nothing more than a two-year-old. Someone like him would listen to anything I said…and act on it.
My teeth gnashed as Kat moved, taking a soundless step, her eyes wide as she whispered. “Not here?”
I swallowed hard as my pulse thundered. I shook my head.
There was a flare of concern. “Grab your jacket. I know of a place.”
A nod of her head urged me forward. I hurried in, tossed my phone onto the bed, and headed for the closet. I wanted out of that dress and away from those memories. But all that could wait. The words were lodged in my throat, stuck like a bone. One I could nether swallow nor dislodge. I grabbed the warmest jacket I'd brought as Kat stepped into the room.
“Ready?”
My mind was racing, filled with my father’s panicked stare and Finley’s words. She was dwarfed by the thick black parka with a fur-lined hood, but she tugged it over her head as I shrugged into mine. My jacket wasn’t as thick as hers, but it was warm and a little of home and right now, I was sick with need. I followed her back down and out of the building, hurrying after her when she led me from the path and headed toward the crash of the waves once more.
“I saw this place from my bedroom window this morning,” she explained, grabbing my arm and tugging me forward. “Heels,” she gasped, out of breath. “Don’t want to sprain your ankle.”
I lifted my foot, sliding off one heel, then the other. My feet throbbed with relief, sinking into the cold grass before I stepped forward, down the incline until we hit the soft, gritty sand. My sigh was snatched by the wind, but the sensation was pure bliss, easing that tightness in my chest.
My hair lashed my cheek, forcing me to turn my face to the wind. For a second, I didn’t understand why here, until Kat pulled me down to the sand beside her.
“They can’t hear here. So you’re safe.”
They couldn’t, not with the gusts of wind and the crash of the waves in the background. Out here I was free to say anything I wanted. The only problem was...how much could I say?
“Okay, so let me tell you what I’ve figured out so far on my own. Which, let me tell you right at the start, I’mnotone of those fucking busybodies out to gossip. So, whatever you say to me stays right here…with me.”
Jesus, my heart thundered.
“You and Finley. There’s something going on there, isn’t there?” She studied my every flinch. When I swallowed hard and looked away, she growled.“I knew it!A goddamn Salvatore? Holy shit girl, you’re in for a world of hurt.”
As if I didn’t know that already.
“Go on,” I murmured quietly, finding her piercing gaze once more. Maybe she was here as a contact, maybe she wasn’t. Either way, I needed to know what she’d figured out on her own.
“He wasn’t supposed to be here, was he?” I shook my head, watching as her eyes widened, like a hound hooked on the scent. “Andneither were you.”
“No.Hewasn’t, but I wanted to come.”
“Wanted to come, huh? Honey.” She placed her hand on my arm. “You stick out like a middle-aged hooker at a high-end whore's club.”
“Jesus, Kat.”
She just smiled and gave me a wink, but slowly that grin faded for a more solemn look. “Anna, are you in some kind of trouble?”
A chill crept along my spine. “Trouble?”
